Lineos AI for Jet Reports

Lineos, an AI assistant from insightsoftware, enables you to use AI insights when creating or working on your reports. To use Lineos, you need to be a Platform user and have the latest version of Jet Reports. To work with Lineos, enable the Lineos checkbox in Jet Reports > App Settings > Jet Ribbon. When the checkbox is enabled, the software displays the Lineos icon on the Jet ribbon for easy access. 

Lineos AI for Jet Reports Overview

Lineos contains the following features:

• Doc Assist – performs user documentation search to instantly answer your questions. In Doc Assist, Lineos can provide answers based only on the contents of the user documentation. The feature is enabled by default and doesn't require configuration.

• Data Assist – Provides insights on overall report data or selected data. The feature is enabled by default and doesn't require configuration.

• Report Assist - enables you to create comprehensive reports that span multiple related tables. This feature uses artificial intelligence to automatically join tables based on your data relationships, making it easier to generate complex reports without manual SQL coding. Requires configuration.

Figure 1:  Lineos for Jet Reports

Report Assist Configuration

To configure Lineos Report Assist for Jet Reports, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Jet Reports and select your default BC Cloud data source and company instance.

   Note: Make sure you are authenticated to your Data Source and get a Successful Test Connection before proceeding to the following steps.

2. On the ribbon, navigate to Select Settings > Data Source Settings > Advanced.

3. In the Advanced tab, scroll down and click the Configure Lineos button.

Lineos will be configured with the default data source for Report Assist. This will take approximately 2-3 minutes. Keep the configuration window open until the process is completed. Once the configuration is completed, a status message will display in the Data Source Settings screen, enabling you to use Report Assist.

Using Report Assist

Before you begin working with Report Assist, make sure that:

• Your data source includes properly defined table relationships.

• You have access to the tables you want to report on.

• Report Assist is enabled in your Jet installation.

You can run reports created using Report Assist either in an active sheet or in a new sheet. Using the Report Assist in a new sheet prevents overriding current work being done in an active sheet. To decide how you want to use Report Assist, go to App Settings > Lineos Settings > Lineos Settings configuration and choose a suitable option.

Generate Reports with Multiple Tables

To generate reports with multiple tables, follow these steps:

1. Open Report Assist from the Jet add-in.

2. Update your data source metadata by selecting Update Data Source. This ensures Report Assist has the latest information about your tables and their relationships.

3. Enter your report request in natural language. For example: "Show how much inventory was used for manufacturing last year".

   Figure 2:  Prompt example

   

4. Select Generate Report. Report Assist will automatically:

   • Identify the most relevant tables for your request (up to 5 tables).

   • Determine the appropriate joins using foreign key relationships.

   • Combine data from multiple tables into a single report

   • Apply filters if they were specified in the prompt. Report Options are also included as filters. For more information about the filters, see the Use Filters in an NL Function article. 

   Figure 3:  Generated Report

   .

Best Practices

• Keep metadata current: Always update your data source before generating complex reports to ensure accurate table relationships.

• Use clear prompts: Specify the data elements you need to help Report Assist select the right tables.

• Start simple: Begin with reports using 2-3 tables before attempting more complex queries.

• Verify relationships: Ensure your database has properly defined foreign keys for accurate joins.

Tips for Success

• Be specific about the fields and groupings you want in your report.

• Include time periods in your prompts when relevant.

• Reference actual table or field names when you know them.

• Review the generated report to ensure all expected data is included.

Limitations

• Currently supports joining up to 5 tables per report.

• Relies on existing foreign key relationships in your data source.

• Does not support advanced join types like recursive or many-to-many relationships.

• Cannot manually override table selection or edit join conditions.

• Report Assist supports only NLTables and NL Rows.

• Report Assist supports only BC Cloud data.